Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr has a new mission where he might need Tony Stark’s expertise in mechanics. The actor is now focusing on converting classic cars into modern innovations powered by Kindred Motorworks.
While the Marvel star has finished his tenure as the indomitable Iron Man, it seems that he might just need to hold on to the character a little longer.
From Vintage Cars To Modern Eco-Friendly Automobiles
Based in San Rafael, California, Kindred is a company led by CEO and founder Rob Howard. In the last two years, Howard obtained funding of over $20 million, which enabled him to launch the project at Monterey Car Week. It is not just your typical enterprise as it is backed by several big investors in the market such as Hagerty, the largest classic car insurance provider, and Footprint Coalition Ventures established by the genius, billionaire, and philanthropist Robert Downey Jr. His company aims to scale modern technologies in hopes of saving the planet.
Kindred CEO Howard has been working with cars most of his life. The founder, who hails from Philadelphia, has his father to thank for his extensive knowledge of automobiles. The past two decades saw Howard moving from a car enthusiast to an entrepreneur, working on classic car restoration. The job heavily relied on advanced technology, which encouraged him to build a company based on that.
The epiphany took place when Howard was restoring a Chevy station wagon. The project took four years to complete, giving him enough time to reflect and realize the dream that he has now built. With state-of-the-art machinery, restoring cars could be done in volumes while simultaneously painting a new face on them and upgrading their features from the sound system to the seats.
All of this is possible because of the efforts of his crew trying to build a system they call ‘Blueprint’. They labored for thousands of hours testing and designing prototypes, which included a rigorous amount of building and rebuilding vehicles until they achieved perfection. It is no easy-peasy process: they had to capture every part from all angles until they could use the same procedure on other mobiles, following the same blueprint.
Of course, the prices of these handsome cars are handsome as well. Kindred is selling a Bronco at $169,000, a Camaro at $149,000, and a VW Bus at $199,000. Prospect buyers can secure a pre-order for a $1,000 deposit. It might take a while before they start to get into production, which is most likely, according to Howard, by the end of 2024.
Robert Downey Jr Uses Iron Man Expertise To Save The World Once Again
As part of RDJ’s project, Downey’s Dream Cars, the actor and his team will restore classic cars into eco-friendly automobiles. He and his wife will produce a series under Warner Bros. Discovery which is expected to launch by the end of 2022.
In a statement by Downey Jr. as reported by THR:
“My goal is to showcase that it’s possible to keep the integrity of classic cars while leveraging new tech and innovation to make them more eco-friendly. I’m thrilled audiences will get to see this series on Discovery+ later this year.”
The classic car restoration project will bring Downey Jr.’s passion for the environment and climate change into action. Now, that is something Iron Man would totally sign up for!
Source: SlashGear
